Playing Catch Up

I often feel like I am perpetually behind the ball. I don't know if it is kids or me or kids and me, whatever the reason I just can't seem to get my proverbial shiz together. Hence the lack of entries.

One of my new years resolution is to remedy this in my life... I will become more organized in my time and life in general AND find time to recharge me!

There is so much going on right now and maybe that is why I feel so discombobulated. We sold our house, bought a new house in a different city (or village I should say) and currently living in my mom's basement as we wait for our new house to be ready...not to mention xmas!
Yikes.

So... I will quickly share what is currently on my mind....Christmas!
Here are a couple ways that I like to make this time of year meaningful and respectful.

• Visit local tree farm for a tree...did you know that locally grown trees are actually more environmentally friendly than a fake or trucked tree! There are quite a few fantastic ones on the island including my favourite, Jingle Bell Tree Farm in Saanichton. Here is a link of BC tree farms.
• Donate a gift and food to a local charity
• Use a furoshiki to wrap presents - gorgeous and practical! It will become part of the gift and you can make them very inexpensively!
  
• Use email for your holiday cards or if you really need to send something tangible make your own! I often reuse cards I received from people the previous year and just cut off the front of the card and attach it to a new piece of cardstock! Reduce Reuse Recycle!
• Instead of exchanging a multitude of gifts between partners, maybe choose to make memories instead. Some ideas could be a romantic horse and buggy ride to see the Christmas lights, or a hike in the snow, tobogganing, make a meal together, etc.

Anyone have any other ideas to share? I love hearing from others as most people are more creative than me :)

The Hazelaid Review Learning Naturally: GIVEAWAY CONTEST - Win up to $40 in Hazelaid Products!

The Hazelaid Review Learning Naturally: GIVEAWAY CONTEST - Win up to $40 in Hazelaid Products!

"Hazelwood up to some good"

To get full effect of the title, one must rap it out.... the cool kids will know what I am talking about...

Alright, with that unnecessary explanation out of the way, I need to post a PSA about the magical powers of a Hazelwood necklace. My son has been plagued with reflux and mysterious rashes since birth, he also happens to be an early teether on top of it all. A mommy forum that I regularly post on had a thread about hazelwood and amber necklaces. I did some research and was intrigued by the testimonials. Most parents raved about what a difference this necklace made for acid reduction and pain reduction for their children. I decided to give it a try. With only 24 hours of wearing his "hippie" necklace (as we fondly call it) his drool rash was significantly reduced, as well as the amount of spitting up and discomfort! I was a believer. In 48 hours, the rash was gone and Kai seemed much happier and only had one tiny spit up...all day!!

The difference is amazing. I am now going to get a anklet for my hubby with tummy troubles and a bracelet for Hana to boost her immune system! I am eyeing up an amber one for my neck pain. If you or your kids are plagued with rashes and teething woes, please try this out. It really does seem to make a significant difference!

I purchased mine from a small family based Canadian company called Hazelaid. They were wonderful to deal with and I highly recommend both their necklaces and company.
Here is a link! Hazelaid

ps. They have a contest on their blog right now if you want some free magic hippy necklaces!! :)

A load of gratitude

Back to that pesky gratitude project. So obviously I can't seem to get to my computer everyday for five minutes, which is ridiculous, yet a reality. So let's just get it all out.... I just can't leave it hanging for a second time!!! Really, I am a grateful person....really....no, really.....
I have 10 days left, 3 things a day = a grand list of 30 things I am grateful for no matter how big or small or silly.

I am eternally grateful for:

1. Sunshine surprises on a rainy day
2. Hana's ability to be so adaptable
3. Kai's happy little soul
4. My husband's smile when he plays with his kids
5. A husband that actually plays with his kids
6. My ridiculous sister who I love for her ridiculousness
7. Good friends that love me regardless of me
8. Good friends that love my kids too
9. Time to share warm cookies with Hana
   
10. People who try to understand even when they don't understand
11. Bird songs
12. Showing my kids the stars
13. How hard my husband works
    
14. The time my husband gives me to have a "break" when really he never gets one either
15. Living in a gorgeous part of the world
    
16. Having the chance to own a part of that gorgeous piece of world
17. My inlaws. I know....out of the norm I suppose, but they really are fab people!
18. Puppies, kittens and all little cuddly things
19. The love of my family
20. My health and my family's health
    
21. A good job
22. A good laugh, the kind that hurts
    
23. Tiny hands in mine
24. Time to sit and watch my children sleep - sounds creepy as I type it out...but they are so cute and peaceful and utterly beautiful when sleeping
25. Respectful and considerate people
26. Holidays - every one of them - Christmas, Halloween, Canada Day, family, etc
27. Flowers
28. Fresh veggies and fruit from the garden
29. Opportunity to breastfeed both my kids - as hard as it is sometimes, I am so grateful I stuck it out
30. For knowing who I am, what I need, and what makes me happy!
    
31. 
    

I don't suck this bad at motherhood

So it is apparent that I am not keeping up with my blog as I intended. As any new mother knows, the precious times when you have two hands free and able to focus on anything other than little people are hard to find! But this blog allows me to have some time for just me and again as any new mom (or old mom for that matter) me time is much needed. Happy mama = happy kids.

Now that I have a half-assed apology for not paying attention to myself out there, back to the blog!

Three things I am grateful for today:

• honest folks
• shooting stars
• friendly strangers

Three things I am grateful for:

• long cozy naps
• a husband that cooks
• dishwashers

Three things I am grateful for today:

• fresh smell of rain
• kind strangers
• freshly baked muffins

Three things I am grateful for:

• sunny beachy days
• ticklish babies
• sooke trout

Gratitude

While I was pregnant with my son, I started the 'Gratitude Project' that was circulating on Facebook. The idea was to post three things no matter how big or small or silly every day that you were grateful for for 30 days. Well, I had a good start, then Mister Kai Guy was born and I forgot all about it.... plus finding time to sit for five minutes on the computer was near impossible!
I got up to day 15, so I would like to start it again here.
So for the next 15 days I will be posting what I am grateful for...and offer you a little glimpse into me!
Join me if you like in the comments!!

Day 1:
I am grateful for:

• lazy mornings
• sneaky 'raspberries' from my daughter
• 'hello mama' smiles from my baby boy

my moments

As I watch my children grow, I often wish that I could capture little moments and have them forever. These precious moments fill my whole being with love and light:

• my newborn son laughing in his sleep
• babies gazing up at me while breastfeeding
• sleepy sighs
• my three year old daughter telling me I am her best friend
• "love you mama" followed by a sweet tiny lip kiss
• the smell of a newborn's breath...I wish I could bottle it
• midnight grins from my son
• the feeling of my daughter slipping her little hand into mine as we walk
• sleepy heads snuggled under my chin
• gummy smiles
• tiny giggles
• freshly bathed babes
  

Party hardy

So the month of July is a busy hot mess of celebration in our house! We have wedding anniversaries, 5 birthdays (in our immediate family alone!) and all the summer festivals, wedding and other fun we can find.

As I planned Hana's 3rd birthday and my husband's 34th (as well as attended the others) I started to look for some eco friendly birthday party options. I of course want to still have a cute and realistic party as well. I decided to turn to my good friend Etsy for some inspiration. And naturally she didn't let me down...
Check out these great eco friendly and fabulous eco friendly party finds!

These are upcycled vintage linen party banners found here. So cute for a little one's birthday bash. They are reusable and really fun!




Here are some reusable napkins for daily and party use! I love these... so funny how I can love napkins. Here is the link to the seller Love For Earth




These are some great party favour options. Usually you get a bag of plastic dollar store junk... played with for an hour, then we throw it all away. I think these would be used over and over. Here is the seller Chicks & Chickadees.



For Hana's party I used biodegradable plates that we just tossed into the compost (there is another post another day!) at the end of the day. They are made from fiber waste and helped me maintain my goal of an easy peasy party. Luckily these are available everywhere now...even Walmart!

Hope a couple of these ideas will help you plan a great yippie party!

Play in our day

Today we went for a family outing to a local city park. It has recently received a new shiny playground with slides, climbers, monkey bars galore. As I watch the kids scramble around on it I think back to a time when I was a child and we used to go down to the small stream near our house and play similar games in the trees and hilly banks of the stream. That stream is no longer there due to housing development in the area and since we live in the city, there isn't any real places I can go with Hana and Kai to just play in nature like that. Shiny plastic playgrounds on woodchips are the only option.

I wonder why the cities around us need to always put in this type of playground when they are revamping a aging play structure or creating a new park. Don't they know that there are wonderful options that are both easier on the budget as well as easier on the environment - not to mention a unique and cool playspace! I am talking about 'natural playgrounds'. I was first introduced to this concept at a conference I went to for work that was based on the work by Richard Louv, the author of Last Child in the Woods. Here I met the founders of Evergreen and Beinenstock two Canadian natural playspace creators and designers. The work they do is both inspirational and common sense! Basically they create a playground made from natural materials and designed on natural elements such as hills, streams, meadows, trees, willow tunnels etc.
Here is an example of what it can look like:

Now I don't know about you, but this type of playspace seems to make sense to me for so many reasons! We all know that kids don't need fancy new shiny toys, they like the box just as much! These playgrounds are kind of like the "box" so to speak. They are cheap to install and maintain and the kids love them. It is us parents that need to look at the play value here and not just see a space with a hill with a slide stuck into it. We are easily dazzled by the brightly coloured play structures and "safe" playgrounds, but really.... think about it. I would hazard to bet that the injuries sustained on a hill or from the top of a tree root are far far less then those from toppling off the highest point of a playground about 9 feet in the air!

I encourage parents who are like-minded to take a look at the Richard Louv site http://richardlouv.com/

Welcome!

As any good Yippie, I am required to have a blog. Sooooo...here it is! Let's do a little intro of sorts.

First off... Yippie, what the heck is that! Well it is a term I coined when trying to describe my family's lifestyle. We are university grads with good jobs work'n for the "man" (aka government) and we love the finer things in life (good food, nice home, decent cars, current style of clothing, etc) yet we also have a love for the earth and our environment and try our best to do the right thing for it!
So you will see us sipping on a Starbucks out of our reusable mugs wearing Lululemon, checking the tide chart on our iphones and planning the beach cleanup we are about to venture on with our family... get the picture??

Secondly who am I and who are we...
I am a mom, a wife and a professional. I have two children, Hana age 3 and Kai a mere 10 weeks. My husband is a kind, loving, generous, smart, talented man...one I cannot live without.

The intention of this blog is to document my findings as I fumble my way through motherhood, marriage and life in general. I like to think I make fairly good choices and often make discoveries through trial and error that are worth sharing with others!